Cesium is a foundational open platform for creating powerful 3D geospatial applications. (Image source: Bentley)

Infrastructure engineering software company, Bentley Systems, has acquired 3D geospatial company Cesium

A foundational open platform for creating powerful 3D geospatial applications, Cesium's 3D Tiles open standard has been particularly popular.

Bentley’s iTwin Platform powers digital twin solutions that are used by engineering and construction firms and owner-operators to design, build, and operate the world’s infrastructure. The combination of Cesium plus iTwin enables developers to seamlessly align 3D geospatial data with engineering, subsurface, IoT, reality, and enterprise data to create digital twins with user experiences that scale from vast infrastructure networks to the millimeter-accurate details of individual assets—viewed from land, sky, and sea, from outer space to deep below the Earth’s surface.

Bentley CEO Nicholas Cumins said, “A 3D geospatial view is the most intuitive way for owner-operators and engineering services providers to search for, query, and visualise information about infrastructure networks and assets. With the combined capabilities of Cesium and iTwin, infrastructure professionals can make better informed decisions in full 3D geospatial context—all within a single, highly performant environment.”

Patrick Cozzi, CEO of Cesium, said, “Joining Bentley marks an important milestone for Cesium as we continue our journey to create the best developer platform for the built and natural environment—founded on open standards and open-source technologies. The combined power of our two organisations and our shared commitment to openness will provide new opportunities for growth and create greater value for an already flourishing developer ecosystem that ranges from small start-ups to global enterprises.”

The two-month survey will be conducted early 2025. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Shearwater Geoservices Holding AS has announced the award of a 4D seismic monitoring contract for the Jubilee field in Ghana, operated by Tullow Ghana Ltd

The two-month survey will be conducted early 2025, utilising capacity from Shearwater’s high-end fleet, supported by the company’s state-of-the-art technology offering and extensive operational experience. This will be the first contract conducted by Shearwater Ghana, in conjunction with local partner Destra Energy; and will include considerable local content participation.

Irene Basili, CEO of Shearwater says, “Our leading towed streamer technology is an ideal fit for the Jubilee field, enabling repeatable surveys to provide Tullow and partners with high-quality data in support of better-informed reservoir optimisation. We look forward to executing this project as part of our long-standing commitment to our clients in Ghana and West Africa.”

The agreement will allow TGS to manage and license more than 132,000 sq kms of seismic data, both 2D and 3D. (Image source: TGS)

By agreement, Tanzania’s Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) has given energy data and intelligence company TGS full access to the region's extensive offshore subsurface data 

The agreement will allow TGS to manage and license more than 132,000 sq kms of seismic data, both 2D and 3D. 

Tanzania boasts strong play diversity, proven through exploration success across much of the stratigraphy, from Early Cretaceous to Miocene reservoirs. The comprehensive dataset comprises of regional seismic as well as well data, unlocking insights into the basin's evolution and structural history.

It will help identify hydrocarbon plays, allow for prospect-specific analysis, mapping of robust trapping configurations, and help understand the maturity and distribution of source rocks.

Besides exclusive rights to license all of Tanzania’s offshore mainland data, TGS is also free to acquire new seismic data and reprocess existing data. 

The company can support upcoming licensing rounds, which is expected to start next year. Tanzania is now ranked third in sub-Saharan Africa for future investment, anticipating 6% GDP growth by 2025, with million-dollar investments in infrastructure, and LNG, among other sectors. 

Attractive exploration target

David Hajovsky, EVP of multi-client at TGS, said, “Tanzania remains an attractive exploration target with its world-class gas fields and excellent sands proven across multiple source intervals. By providing access to high-quality seismic data ahead of potential future licensing activities, TGS will empower exploration and production companies to evaluate opportunities in this under-explored but highly promising region of East Africa.” 

TGS has also signed an agreement recently with the national oil company of Liberia (NOCAL) for data access expansion in the region. 

TGS plans to reprocess approximately 15,616 sq kms of legacy 3D seismic data in the Liberia Basin. (Image source: TGS)

Energy data and intelligence provider TGS has collaborated with the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) to expand data access offshore Liberia

TGS will work to rejuvenate the existing legacy 2D and 3D datasets in Liberia's prospective Liberia and Harper Basins, aspiring to reach high subsurface clarity. 

This will help build a unified velocity model in depth, utilising cutting-edge imaging algorithms to produce the final migrated seismic data, which can prove crucial for prospectivity studies in Liberia's offshores.

The company has initiated this campaign since 2022, after the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), in cooperation with NOCAL, opened direct exploration licensing negotiations for all offshore blocks over the Harper and Liberia basins in 2021. An already reprocessed 2D legacy seismic of approximately 12,097 kms is available for industry licensing.

Benefitting exploration

"At TGS, we are proud of our longstanding and successful partnership with Liberia, which we believe presents considerable offshore hydrocarbon opportunities. This high-quality 2D seismic data will be essential in promoting future licensing rounds offshore Liberia under a direct negotiation approach. It also allows E&P companies to further evaluate exploration opportunities in an under-explored but proven petroleum system adjacent to prolific hydrocarbon provinces," said David Hajovsky, executive vice-president of global multi-client at TGS.

Since Liberia's Petroleum Law came into effect in 2019, investment conditions were relaxed and more time frame for exploration was allowed. The reprocessed products by TGS add to the exploration prospects in the region with its consistent, continuous data set of several vintages, providing uninterrupted seismic attributes of higher confidence at target levels across the entire margin.

TGS has now taken on to the second phase to reprocess an additional 12,675 line kms over the Liberia and Harper Basins, bringing the total to over 24,700 kms.

Additionally, the company plans to reprocess approximately 15,616 sq kms of legacy 3D seismic data in the Liberia Basin.